IS IT A MYTH OR THE TRUTH!!

Hello

On page 38 of her book called, --- Understanding Stammering or Stuttering,  the author Elaine Kelman lists a number of myths about the cause of stuttering.  The second myth that she mentions is actually the truth and her answer is the myth.

Parents can be partially responsible for their children's stammering but since the parent's don't know that they are doing it, one can hardly blame them.  In that regard, I concur with the author Elaine Kelman.  

First of all let's clear up the difference between the word stammering and stuttering.   In England they call it stammering and in the USA they call it stuttering.  So in reality they are synonyms that mean the very same thing.

Let me share with you the actual words that are written on this subject on page 38 of the above mentioned book:

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Myth # 2  

Parents are to blame for their child's stutter.

This is a very persistent myth.   Even in the King's Speech [the movie], the impression was given that the King may have developed a stammer because his parents were cold and unaffectionate.  

This notion has often been repeated in the media.  No one would dream of suggesting that parents cause their children to be dyslexic or to be short-sighted.  Parent's do not cause stammering.

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I agree completely that a parent would not deliberately cause their child to stutter but they could do it if they failed to understand how stuttering happens and that is exactly what my point is.

In the brilliant movie called, --- The King's Speech, the King's father at one point says:  "I was afraid of my father and by God, my children are going to be afraid of me also.

The real cause of stuttering is distorted and conglomerated fear.   The last thing that a child needs is a parent who deliberately sets out to make them afraid of him or her.  I always thought that one should love ones children, not make them afraid of you.

I said that the King's parents, namely his father, was partly to blame.  Some of the blame must also go to the nanny who in her warped desire to keep her job, pinched the future King to make him cry when he was "presented" to his parents daily.

The King's father didn't want a cry baby in his presence and so the child was sent away with the nanny.   This gave the nanny more value than she was actually worth.   Eventually the pinching was discovered and the nanny was let go but it apparently took 3 years before this nonsense was discovered by the parents.

In all probability the nanny convinced the four year old future King to keep quiet or she would make things even worse for him.   To add to the stress, the nanny would starve the future King for a few days after such incidents as that described above.

So you might say:  Why didn't George's older brother David stutter also.  He kept his fears hidden inside and they showed up in spades when his father died and he became King.   At that moment he put his head on his Mother's shoulder and cried like a baby.

He also got up and left immediately to hide his embarrassment about his childish behavior.  Then he avoided having to face his fears by marrying Mrs. Wallace and abdicating the throne.  

Here is a perfect example of the elaborate rationalizations and the impenetrable maze of defence mechanisms that Dr. Forgione brilliantly foretold in his book called, --- Fear [Learning To Cope].   

It is my unalterable belief that only in his most private moments, did David admit such chicanery, but nevertheless it all came to pass.  
But I digress, let us go back to George who eventually became the King.    

George's inability to make the sound K, was a direct reference to the level of fear that was planted in his mind.   Only repeated success in his various speeches allowed George to complete the speech.

In another part of the movie the King comes out with a string of obscenities.  This is also a fear for the sutterer that he or she will use profanity in a setting where such behavior is unacceptable.   

This represents a new fear that comes into existence when he becomes aware that he cannot control how or when he will stutter.  In other words, he developed a fear of not being able to control what he wanted to say.   

This next conclusion on my part will risk the wrath of some of the members of the reading public but either you must follow the truth or accept partial understanding about the situation that you are discussing.

The K sound became a double fear for King George even before he became King.   That is, on the one hand it provoked the memory of his fear-mongering father and on the other hand, it represented a fear of using profanity because the letter is the start of a profane word that is used to describe a woman's birth canal.  Luckily for you the reader, I have just fallen off of my virtual soap-box. Good bye for now.